


Call the Police

by CaptainJZH



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, But not by too much, Episode: s02e12 Keystone Motel, Gen, Police
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-21
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2019-06-13 18:35:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15370803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainJZH/pseuds/CaptainJZH
Summary: At the Keystone Motel, Greg wasn't back in an hour, so Steven calls the police.Ruby and Sapphire are still less than helpful.





	Call the Police

“Dad’s been gone for well over an hour,” Steven said, anxiously looking at the clock in the now-freezing motel room.

 

“He will not be back for several more hours,” Sapphire chimed in.

 

“D-dad said...he said to call the police if he wasn’t back…”

 

“The local law enforcement will not be able to help you.”

 

Steven made a sharp exhale through his nose, giving away his buried frustration.

 

“Well I’m c-calling anyway…” Steven shivered, reaching for the phone. Thankfully it hadn’t crumbled to bits in the freezing temperatures.

 

\---

 

The cop car rolled up to the front of the motel about a half hour later. Steven had gotten too cold in the room and, with the pool no longer an option thanks to Ruby, was sitting out on the front curb with his blanket wrapped around him.

 

“You’re the kid who called about his dad not coming back?” a voice called out.

 

“Yeah,” Steven glumly replied.

 

The officer stepped out of the car and sat down next to him, taking a notebook out of his pocket.

 

“What’s your name, if you don’t mind? Mine’s George.”

 

“Steven.”

 

“Alright Steven, so I’m gonna ask you some questions. You ready?”

 

Steven nodded.

 

“How old are you?”

 

“13.”

 

The cop let out a chuckle.

 

“Is that a fact?” he asked incredulously.

 

“Yeah,” Steven said, an inkling of a smile returning to his face, “Most people don’t believe it.”

 

“Okie dokie then, uh, where are you from?”

 

“Beach City. It’s down in Delmarva.”

 

“Oh, okay, I’ve been around there,” he said as he continued to write stuff down, “What brings you to Keystone?”

 

“Well,” Steven said, feeling himself get a bit more comfortable around the officer, “he runs a car wash back home, and he found some discounted roller brushes online and...and I guess he figured I could use the vacation.”

 

“Good to get away from school, huh?”

 

“What? No, I’m, uh...home-schooled.”

 

“Ah, I see. And what’s your dad’s first and last name?”

 

“Uh, Greg. Greg Universe.”

 

The cop’s eyebrow rose in response to that.  _ First a 13-year-old who looks eight, then his last name is Universe? _

 

“And what time did he leave the motel?”

 

“Like, an hour and a half, maybe two hours ago?”

 

“Uh-huh,” the officer said, “Where did he say he was going?”

 

“Well, uh, he was actually leaving to get those roller brushes from that internet man, and...well, he just said that if he wasn’t back in an hour, to call the police.”

 

“And what’d his car look like?”

 

“It’s a van, with multi-colored stripes on the sides and a drawing of a planet and a comet. It was kinda his thing when he was a rock star,” Steven said with a wistful smile.

 

“Do you have anyone else here to look after you?” the cop asked, looking around.

 

“Well…” Steven became noticeably more uncomfortable at that.

 

“There’s Ruby and Sapphire, but…”

 

“And who are they?”

 

“...That’s a complicated story, but I guess you could say they’re my guardians? They were friends of my mom before she...”

 

“Okay, okay,” the officer said, realizing that he may have touched a nerve, “Are they in the room?”

 

“Well Sapphire is, but Ruby’s in the pool.”

 

“The pool? When I drove in there wasn’t any water in the pool that I could see…” the cop said to himself, standing up.

 

“There isn’t,” Steven replied.

 

“This your room?” the officer asked, gesturing to one of the motel doors.

 

“Yeah. The door’s unlocked, I think.”

 

The second the door opened, he was met with a rush of bitter, freezing air, and the sight of a small blue woman sitting on the bed.

 

“Your presence here is a waste of time,” Sapphire told the officer from the bed, “There are approximately 10,172 crimes happening right now that you could be preventing.”

 

“Jeez, someone must’ve cranked up the A/C,” the officer said before stepping into the room.

 

“Uh, hi, I’m Officer Gonzalez of the Keystone State Troopers. We received a call about a missing person about a half-hour ago, and-”

 

“He’s not missing. He just didn’t come back in the allotted time. It is only inevitable that he returns.”

 

“Well did he give an address or-?” Officer Gonzalez asked, growing frustrated with Sapphire.

 

“Giving an address would have been pointless considering the unavoidable eventuality of his return.”

 

“Like I said,” Steven said from behind, “It’s complicated.”

 

Officer Gonzalez sighed and turned to Steven.

 

“Where’s the other one?”

 

\---

 

“Excuse me?” Gonzales shouted down into the pool, “Ruby, is it?”

 

“WHAT?!” the small red woman yelled back.

 

“I’m Officer Gonzalez of the Keystone State Troopers, could you come up here, please?”

 

“NO!”

 

Steven sighed.

 

“Sorry... They’ve been, um, fighting…”

 

“I can tell,” Gonzalez muttered.

 

“I just wish I knew if dad was okay or not…” Steven said, worry filling his voice.

 

The officer knelt down to Steven’s level, looking for something reassuring to say. He was interrupted by the headlights of Greg’s van, shining on the two of them as it pulled into the parking lot.

 

“He’s back!” Steven cried out with joy, running up to meet his dad.

 

Hugging Greg as he got out of the car, Steven explained, “You weren’t back in an hour and I got worried so I called the police and...and I hope that was okay.”

 

“Of course it is, bud. There was just a traffic jam on the way back,” Greg told Steven before turning to the officer, “Uh, everything  _ is _ okay, right?”

 

“Well since you’re back everything seems to be fine now. Though, uh, word of advice, Mr. Universe?” Gonzalez said, taking Greg out of Steven’s earshot.

 

“Yes?”

 

“Next time try to leave your kid with, uh, more emotionally stable people.”

 

Greg didn’t know what that was supposed to mean, but he thanked the officer anyway and turned back to Steven.

 

“So how about we go inside and eat some pizza, Shtu-ball?”

 

“Uh, dad?”

 

The second Greg opened the door he was greeted by a cold, blue-tinted room and an equally-cold, even-bluer woman.

 

“He’s not going to like that it’s square.”

 

“Ho boy…”


End file.
